BATH

Bath city councilors unanimously approved the transfer of the Huse School property to the Bath Development Corporation on Wednesday.

The Szanton Company, a development firm in Portland, is in the process of acquiring the historic school to renovate the building as an affordable housing unit in the Bath community.

Due to some environmental issues that need to be addressed on the property, Economic Development Director Scott LaFlamme said transferring the property to BDC will allow the city to access available assessment funds through the Midcoast Economic Development District, as well as some EPA Brownfield Assessment Grants that are available.

“The transfer to the BDC allows money for a Phase II environmental investigation from the MCEDD, which is again, a grant that we can use to do additional sampling on asbestos tile, roof materials, things like that we can’t access currently,” LaFlamme said Wednesday. “It also allows us to use some of our grant dollars that we have here in house to do some testing of an underground storage tank that’s on the property.”

Due to EPA regulations, the city is unable “to use any of our own grant dollars on facilities that have been contaminated by the host,” LaFlamme said.

He also noted that since the city has owned the school since it was constructed in the 1940s, it is responsible for any contaminations that may be in the building.

“Because the city owned it and knowingly put this in there — that was what we had for materials at the time — we’re not eligible to use our own dollars,” he said.

City solicitor Roger Therriault confirmed that the order “authorizes the transfer of the land and the assignment of a purchase and sales agreement with Bath Development Corporation,” which is something the city has done in prior years.

“It’s using some good resources to help a good project,” LaFlamme said.

dkim@timesrecord.com